For the 15th year, the UC College of Allied Health Sciences showcased undergraduate and graduate student research in their annual Presentation of Research and Innovative/Scholarly Endeavors, or "PRaISE” conference, held Friday, April 5 in Tangeman University Center.

During the day, students from every allied health discipline showed their work through oral and poster presentations.

For some, it was their first experience sharing their months of work with the public.

"This was my first conference that I had presented any content in,” says Advanced Medical Imaging Technology senior Elizabeth Newman.

Newman says the PRaISE process taught how to sort through research literature and present her own work in a clear, concise way—and helped her conquer fears of speaking to the public. Her topic, the impact of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on major depression, arose naturally from her studies.

"As a student that is undergoing the clinical process of becoming an MRI technologist, I was finding that quite a few patients that were taking anti-depressant pharmaceuticals to help with their symptoms of major depression,” she says. "I took it upon myself to research major depression…and from there, saw a few articles concerning a new treatment option from major depression called TMS. This seemed to be a new and innovative way of giving people struggling with major depression another treatment option.”

This year’s PRaISE conference was the first to feature widespread participation from School of Social Work students, after the school joined the college in 2010.

Working with faculty advisor Gary Dick, PhD, senior Pete Freudenberger studied the efficacy of restorative justice programs in Cincinnati nonprofit Lighthouse Youth Services. He found Lighthouse had "significantly positive outcomes” in changing the attitudes and beliefs in their adolescent male clients.

"This topic was out of my comfort zone when I started,” says Freudenberger. "I learned a great deal about current crime statistics in Cincinnati and was also surprised to learn of the relatively large gang presence in our city. The conference was a wonderful opportunity to display my hard work and share my acquired knowledge with my cohort and other professionals.”

Social work senior Lisa Zito, who also worked with Dick for her project, presented her poster "Barriers to Foster Parent Retention” in the last session of the day.

"Through my research, I found that alumni foster parents had a significantly positive impact on retention rates of potential caregivers,” she says. "I was also able to get to know the amazing men and women who open their hearts and homes to children in need.”